Sleep apnea is a common sleep ailment that affects as many as five percent of the population worldwide. Persons with sleep apnea stop breathing for short durations many times during sleep, so that the depth and quality of their sleep is reduced. As a result, persons with sleep apnea suffer from a profound sleepiness, which can impair their ability and performance at work and in other activities.
Sleep apnea often results from a collapse of the person's throat tissues during sleep, which reduces or suppresses the air flow to the lungs. Lowered oxygen levels and increased carbon dioxide levels in blood alert the person's brain and breathing resumes, but each occurrence arouses the person and interrupts restorative sleep.
Surgery is a possible treatment but surgical procedures are complex and success rates are often low. A more common treatment for sleep apnea is to force air inside the person's throat during sleep with a respirator apparatus. Apparatuses of this type use continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP.
Respirator apparatuses traditionally provide pressurized air or gas to a nasal mask which is applied to the persons' nose during sleep. However, nasal masks are difficult to apply on a person's nose, which results in skin irritation, nasal congestion, airways dryness, and air leaks. In addition, nasal masks are bulky, so that the person wearing the mask cannot move easily and may experience claustrophobia.